Early baseball in Hawaii/Game 4
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> Hawaii -> Early baseball in Hawaii/Game 4 |
| Location | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Month | 8 |
| Note on date | No later than August 4; likely much earlier |
| State | HI |
| Country | US |
| Was NY rules baseball | Likely |
| Played by | Unknown |
| First in Hawaii | Yes |
| Found by | Richard Hershberger |
"Base Ball has been carried over to the Sandwich Islands. A game was played some time since between two nines composed of natives, during which some very queer antics were indulged in. A player finding it impossible to reach his base, was determined not to be put out, and started up the town at full speed, closely followed by the baseman. The latter, after a short chase, finding himself falling behind, mounted a horse tied near by, and thus overtook the player. After this little deviation from the rules, they returned to the grounds, and the game went on as before."
Caveat 1: Finder Richard Hershberger later advised that this account is "in the genre of 'funny stories about (newbie players) acting foolishly.'Â It might be more or less based on an actual incident, but it might also be complete fiction."
Caveat 2: Presuming this account to be based on fact, it may be that the game played was a predecessor game, played by non-Association rules but reported with "nines" and "basemen" by the 1866 writer.
Sources
Philadelphia Sunday Mercury, August 4, 1866.
Posted to SABR's 19CBB List-serve on December 5, 2012. RRH caveat posted December 7, 2012.
